Tag: wansteadnews

â€¢ Wanstead’s role in the running of Redbridge Council has increased with the appointment of Wanstead Conservative Councillor Alex Wilson to the Redbridge ‘cabinet’ – the executive part of the council. Now three of the nine councillors on the cabinet are Wanstead Conservatives (Alex Wilson, Thomas Chan and Michelle Dunn) following the resignation of Cllr Sue Nolan, who is admittedly a Snaresbrook councillor. (If you’re expecting Wansteadium to assess whether this shift in the balance of power is going to have big effect on the governance of Redbridge, you must be new here.)

â€¢ So it may or may not be good news for residents of Wellington Road who are planning to be out in force at the Area One committee on Monday evening – after they got word that their campaign to stop or slow through-traffic had not succeeded. Motorists coming down Hermon Hill cut down Nelson Road and go on to Wellington Road to avoid the traffic lights at the junction with the High Street. Except on Mondays when the bin lorry completely blocks the road, and said motorists curse, slam into reverse and retrace their tracks. Residents say 60 cars a day speed down the road at up to 70mph.

â€¢ Congratulations to Keatings Jewellers on Wanstead High Street which is celebrating its 25th anniversary. And congratulations also to nearby Santa Fe which has marked its 20th anniversary.

â€¢ And at the other end of the High Street, it’s reported in the Wanstead Guardian that the owner of the buildings which house Snaresbrook Cars and the much loved Ironing Board outside Snaresbrook Station has applied for permission to demolish the buildings and put the business into temporary cabins. More here.

• And finally, the new subscribers keep on coming. At the time of writing there were 352 people who had signed up to receive Wansteadium by e-mail. Each morning, on those days when we have published a new entry, they get a beautiful and fascinating e-mail with which to wow their friends and colleagues. You can join them by signing up here.

When the maps are working fully, it will be easy to compare one neighbourhood with another – and it’s a fair bet that compared to Ilford, Leytonstone and Walthamstow, Wanstead will come out well.Â So, ever on the lookout for ways to be of public service, Wansteadium here offers a Nick Ross “don’t have nightmares” thought; the map below comes from Murder Maps, a remarkable site which claims to have plotted all murders in London since the days of Jack the Ripper. Despite all the unfortunate murders indicated on the map, not one of them happened in Wanstead.

And the considerate community support officers have clearly thought this through – you can ring up to make an appointment, and they will follow from a safe distance so as not to raise suspicion. For vulnerable or nervous folk this could be a great thing. Just one question, though: who withdraws money from a cashpoint after they’ve done their shopping?

… wait for it… Churchill’s. Yes, Wansteadium can exclusively reveal that the East London estate agent which seemed to be a fixture in the office on the corner of Wanstead High Street and Woodbine Place – and which shut up shop during the credit crunch -Â will be making a comeback over the summer. It is expected to return at the end of August.

And though another estate agent is hardly going to add to the diversity of Wanstead High Street, which has taken a battering in recent weeks, it is at least an indication that the housing market is picking up and that despite having offices in South Woodford, Leytonstone, Walthamstow and other nearby spots, Wanstead is still worth treating as an entity in its own right.

• There was a nasty-sounding van-jacking in Snaresbrook when a driver was threatened with a gun. According to the Wanstead Guardian, though, the driver, a former doorman, seems to have been more traumatised by being made to take off his trousers by his attacker.

It’s hard to stay calm when you’ve got a gun held at your head. But you’ve got to do it. It’s when you panic that you get problems. At the time I just kept as calm as I could. I’ve had knives waved at me before when I used to do the doors – but a gun is different altogether. I was a bit confused when he asked me to take my trousers off. I thought ‘if he tries anything funny here he’s going to have to start shooting.

• Wansteadium noted two weeks ago that the Redbridge council elections had turned out to be a mirror-image of the national election result. To make the parallel even more apt, the Tories and Lib Dems have formed a coalition in Redbridge too. Wanstead councillor Thomas Chan, who was the first Chinese mayor in Britain, has now finished his term as mayor.
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The Wanstead Society has decided to oppose new plans to demolish the historic Kinema building. Its owner wants to build eight flats and a restaurant, but says the plans would be sympathetic to the style of the High Street.
• There’s another flag on a tree.

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